Catherina van der Linden has revealed the secret to her longevity ahead of her 111th birthday.
The supercentenarian is believed to be the oldest living Australian and lives in South Australia at Southern Cross Care's West Beach Residential Care home.
She can be found in the gym two to three times a week and enjoys regular walks around the home.
It's this active lifestyle she credits for her longevity, as she prepares to celebrate her birthday on August 26.
"I push myself sometimes when I'm getting a bit tired and I think it's about time to do something to yourself to see that you still have that energy that you had before," Mrs van der Linden said.
"I still go on the bike, sometimes for 10 minutes and that is a long time to spend on the bike."
Born in the Netherlands in 1912, Mrs van der Linden migrated to Australia in 1955 with her husband and young family.
Her working life included stints as a grape picker, nursing assistant, typist and clerical assistant, and she had an interest in fashion and dressmaking passed down from her mother, a seamstress, and her dad, a tailor.
She now enjoys spending time with her friends and family with four children, 10 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
Her eldest daughter Mariella Hocking theorised there may be a "freaky gene" somewhere in the family to explain her great age.
"Mum had one aunt who also lived to 110 but all her brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, all lived only to their 60s and early 70s," she said.
Mrs van der Linden's advice for a long life is to "be happy with yourself and be content with what life gives you".
"Sometimes it's not very good and sometimes it's better but you have to take the bad with the good as well and it's possible to make living a joy," she said.
And finally, "keep moving, don't sit still".
'An inspiration to all of us'
Living at West Beach Residential Care, Mrs van der Linden is a role model of healthy ageing for other residents and staff, according to the home's manager Catherine Willoughby.
"Catherina is an inspiration to all of us, she's still doing regular walks around the facility, opens the exit doors and around she goes - we've actually got a couple of other new residents that have started doing the same routine," she said.
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"I think it's amazing that she's 111 and the fact that she's still so mobile and still very much alert and oriented to what's happening around her.
"Other residents really enjoy just the fact that she keeps them inspired by keeping moving - she always says it's important to keep moving."
The oldest Australian on record according to validated reports is Christina Cock who died aged 114 in 2002, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Globally the oldest person in history is believed to be 122-year-old Jeanne Calment, who died in France in 1997.
